The U.S.-China Military Scorecard
Subtitle: Forces, Geography, and the Evolving Balance of Power, 1996–2017
Publisher: RAND Corporation
Published: Sep 29, 2015
Language: eng
Format: paperback
Number of pages: 430
ISBN-13: 978-0833082190
Description: "Over the past two decades, China's People's Liberation Army has transformed itself from a large but antiquated force into a capable, modern military. Its technology and operational proficiency still lag behind those of the United States, but it has rapidly narrowed the gap. Moreover, China enjoys the advantage of proximity in most plausible conflict scenarios, and geographical advantage would likely neutralize many U.S. military strengths. A sound understanding of regional military issues -- including forces, geography, and the evolving balance of power -- will be essential for establishing appropriate U.S. political and military policies in Asia. This RAND study analyzes the development of respective Chinese and U.S. military capabilities in ten categories of military operations across two scenarios, one centered on Taiwan and one on the Spratly Islands. The analysis is presented in ten scorecards that assess military capabilities as they have evolved over four snapshot years: 1996, 2003, 2010, and 2017. The results show that China is not close to catching up to the United States in terms of aggregate capabilities, but also that it does not need to catch up to challenge the United States on its immediate periphery. Furthermore, although China's ability to project power to more distant locations remains limited, its reach is growing, and in the future U.S. military dominance is likely to be challenged at greater distances from China's coast. To maintain robust defense and deterrence capabilities in an era of fiscal constraints, the United States will need to ensure that its own operational concepts, procurement, and diplomacy anticipate future developments in Chinese military capabilities."--Back cover
Notes: Source title: The U.S.-China Military Scorecard: Forces, Geography, and the Evolving Balance of Power, 1996-2017
Table of contents: label: Chapter One
title: Introduction
pagenum: 1-22; label: Chapter Two
title: Different Paths: Chinese and U.S. Military Development, 1996–2017
pagenum: 23-44; label: Chapter Three
title: Scorecard 1: Chinese Capability to Attack Air Bases
pagenum: 45-70; label: Chapter Four
title: Scorecard 2: Air Campaigns Over Taiwan and the Spratly Islands
pagenum: 71-96; label: Chapter Five
title: Scorecard 3: U.S. Penetration of Chinese Airspace
pagenum: 97-132; label: Chapter Six
title: Scorecard 4: U.S. Capability to Attack Chinese Air Bases
pagenum: 133-152; label: Chapter Seven
title: Scorecard 5: Chinese Anti-Surface Warfare
pagenum: 153-200; label: Chapter Eight
title: Scorecard 6: U.S. Anti-Surface Warfare Capabilities Versus Chinese Naval Ships
pagenum: 201-226; label: Chapter Nine
title: Scorecard 7: U.S. Counterspace Capabilities Versus Chinese Space Systems
pagenum: 227-244; label: Chapter Ten
title: Scorecard 8: Chinese Counterspace Capabilities Versus U.S. Space Systems
pagenum: 245-258; label: Chapter Eleven
title: Scorecard 9: U.S. and Chinese Cyberwarfare Capabilities
pagenum: 259-284; label: Chapter Twelve
title: Scorecard 10: U.S. and Chinese Strategic Nuclear Stability
pagenum: 285-320; label: Chapter Thirteen
title: The Receding Frontier of U.S. Dominance
pagenum: 321-342; label: Chapter Fourteen
title: Implications and Recommendations
pagenum: 343-356; label: Bibliography
pagenum: 357-390